Pedestals
by lalalei
Summary: What Yugi and his friends say happened on Duelist Kingdom is too much for Duke Devlin to believe. When he goes to Pegasus for answers, he learns more than he bargained for, but finds hope for recovery as well. Anime-verse with manga influences.


Duke Devlin couldn't believe it at first—no, he _refused_ to believe it. He could, if grudgingly, accept that Yugi had beaten Maximillion Pegasus in a duel. But what Yugi had told him afterward, of Pegasus stealing souls, reading minds, forcing people to play in his tournament, was too much.

Duke considered himself a fairly logical person, even if magic had suddenly entered his life, but the thought of his hero doing what would sound monstrous to any observer—he wouldn't allow it. He had to find more than one source of information, at least, and with his networking skills Duke was able to find what little public information had been released on Duelist Kingdom.

Admittedly, there wasn't much to go on. Officially nothing shady had been going on at all, with the tournament proceeding as scheduled and nothing of the Kaiba brothers or Yugi's grandpa to be found. Former champion duelists like Rex and Weevil bemoaned bitter losses, while the rumor mill told seedy tales of player killers, hired guns, and some poor kid getting kicked off the island after his stolen Star Chips were recovered. While the latter was distressing, it was still _normal_ stuff, Duke thought. It was nothing like their tales of Shadow Games and a Shadow Realm and ancient magical artifacts.

But every one of Yugi's friends corroborated the story, as did Mokuba Kaiba, who responded to his email only after a promise that he wouldn't ask Seto about the experience. So either they were _all_ lying, or Yugi had been right during their Dungeon Dice Monsters game—Duke hadn't known Pegasus at all.

There was only one way to learn the truth. Duke would have to get his answers from Pegasus himself, even if the thought—perhaps generated by what they had said—filled him with a strange sense of unease.

He shook it off.

Some said ignorance was bliss, but not in this case. Duke _had_ to know.

Knowing was better than not knowing, wasn't it?

* * *

Pegasus greeted him cordially, which relieved Duke quite a bit. After exchanging pleasantries and updates on their respective gaming fields, and a polite refusal of a glass of fruit juice—he knew very well it was wine—Duke decided to get down to business and ask directly.

"Mr. Pegasus?"

"Just Pegasus will suffice, Devlin-boy, though our projects are so close together you could call me Maximillion if you wished."

Duke stared, mouth agape, and at the sight Pegasus broke into laughter. "I'm sorry, Devlin-boy, but your expression is just like Funny Bunny's in episode 124 when he disguised himself as a fish to fool Ruff Gruff McDogg. Ah, childhood memories…"

Duke fought down a blush. "R-right. Uh… Pegasus… I came here because I wanted to know something, something I think only you would be able to tell me."

Pegasus raised an eyebrow, watching him with a bemused expression. "I figured as much. It's not every day a famous game creator arrives at my castle uninvited."

Now or never, Duke thought. He steeled himself. "What really happened at Duelist Kingdom?"

Pegasus stared, and continued to stare, his single visible eye unblinking. When Duke blinked first, he spoke, tone low. "Depends on who you ask, Devlin-boy."

"I know the official story, and I'd read rumors about shady goings-on. But Yugi and his friends told me something completely different, something not even close to normal."

At that Pegasus seemed almost jovial, cheerfully recounting events that seemed impossible. "Let me guess. They told you I captured Yugi's grandfather's soul, forced him into a tournament of my own design, stole the souls of Seto and Mokuba Kaiba, and had a mind-reading Millennium Eye that could see and counter moves almost anyone made. Among _other_ things."

Whatever those _other_ things were, Duke had a feeling he didn't want to know, but the basics were right. Slowly, he nodded.

"Before I tell you my story, tell me a bit about yourself. I know we made our introductions when you contacted me, but since then I've read up on you as well, Devlin-boy, including that father of yours. The papers say he inspired you to be a gamer."

Pegasus leaned forward, his eye piercing Duke's. "As with my tournament, I assume that account is only partly true."

Duke nodded. "My dad"—he corrected himself—"my _father_ , he… he did push me into games. He taught me game theory, told me everything there is to know about rolling dice. He had a grudge of some kind against Yugi, or I think maybe his grandpa, but I never found out what it was. I was scared to ask. In a lot of respects, he terrified me."

"Have you thought of asking him now," Pegasus asked carefully, and Duke's expression melted into fear briefly before he righted himself.

"N-no. I got out of there a long time ago, when I began work on Dungeon Dice Monsters. But… Father and I had one thing in common. I didn't understand his feelings at first, but I learned how it felt when I heard you lost to Yugi."

"The desire for revenge," Pegasus surmised, though by his tone it seemed he already knew it quite well.

"Yeah. Other than that, in some ways he did help me. He told me how to act, what to say to make people listen, and to never let compassion or pity get in the way of my goals."

Pegasus nodded, his face twitching slightly as if fighting the urge to sneer.

"So you had fans, but not friends, until Yugi-boy came along. And oh, you thought the _world_ of me. Had me high on a mental pedestal, didn't you?"

"Of course," Duke said, eyes shining with hope. "You were my idol. You were part of the reason I got _into_ games. As for being friendless, I could be on top of the world financially…but there was still this _ache_ that wouldn't settle."

"I can relate," Pegasus said ruefully, sipping at his wine. "Now, to answer your question properly…"

Duke felt his entire world shift the instant before Pegasus's voice reached his ears.

"I admit it, Duke. All of it. I stole the souls of Solomon Muto and the brothers Kaiba. I locked them away in the Shadow Realm, used blatantly overpowered cards, forced little Yugi into a Shadow Game that nearly cost him his life, and planned to gain control of KaibaCorp, take the Millennium Puzzle, and resurrect my darling Cecelia in a manner I know now she'd never approve of. And for the record, while Yugi-boy did have help in defeating me, he didn't cheat."

The silver-haired CEO's tone was soft, almost wistful. "I regret it every day, Devlin-boy, but I won't deny my actions. I did all they said, and more; I even read _your_ mind during our Dungeon Dice Monsters game. And yet Yugi-boy forgave me for all I'd done."

Duke could only stare at his hero, his idol, laying his darkest secrets out before him. The story was so much deeper than he could have imagined, and Pegasus's melancholy, nostalgic tone told him there was no way it was fake—if it was he could deceive the Shadow Realm itself.

That meant all of it was real.

Before he could process any of it, Pegasus moved on, cheery once more. "So you can see why I didn't answer your email right away. Besides," he added with a sly air, "you're not exactly an angel yourself, Devlin-boy. Does forcing poor Joseph to dress up like a dog on national television, letting your cheerleaders do what they wanted to him, and telling Yugi to quit dueling forever if he lost ring any bells?"

Duke grimaced at the memories, though at the time he hadn't cared all that much about what he was doing or how it looked; all that mattered was the end goal—defeating and humiliating Yugi for what he'd _thought_ he'd done to beat Pegasus. Joey was just collateral, a stepping stone to that goal, though looking back he felt absolutely horrid about it—those girls did too, or so Duke hoped, anyway. He counted himself lucky that Yugi and Joey were so forgiving.

"Yeah, you're right," he said morosely. "Joey was a better duelist than I gave him credit for, too—we both used decks we'd picked at random and he came within 50 points of beating me."

"Out of curiosity, what did you plan to do if Joey had won?"

Duke shrugged, letting out a sharp laugh. "I honestly never thought that far."

"Neither did I," Pegasus said with a rueful chuckle. "Had I given more than a thought to Yugi-boy winning, well, perhaps I wouldn't be missing an Eye."

At that Duke leaned forward, trying to catch a glimpse behind the silvery hair, but Pegasus drew back. "It's not very pleasant, I'm afraid. And neither were the memories I rummaged through when dueling you in Dungeon Dice Monsters. You really should learn to keep your thoughts under control, Devlin-boy—you don't need to read people's _minds_ to read _people_. It's a skill that's quite useful in the business world, though I'm sure you know that already."

Duke just stared, far more focused on the beginning of what the eccentric game designer had said. He swallowed hard.

"So wait, you really _did_ read my mind to win, and all that other stuff? _You_ cheated?"

"If you've got it, flaunt it," Pegasus said, his tone much too cavalier for Duke's liking. "But don't worry, Devlin-boy. I'm positive I could have beaten you fairly, had I chosen to. At the time, I had… more pressing matters to concern myself with than a new gaming contract. You'd understand if you'd been there. Possibly."

That didn't make him feel any better, nor did Pegasus's next comments.

"Do you know how intoxicating, how _necessary_ it is to read minds if you're able? Being deprived of that, especially in the beginning, was tantamount to blindness."

He couldn't understand, would never understand, but Duke nodded anyway.

"So how did you recover," he finally asked.

Pegasus's expression was pained.

"Slowly. Painfully. But I'd like to think I came out stronger for it—as did you, in your own battles. Your father may have shaped you, but he didn't _define_ you, Duke, and Yugi-boy's forgiveness helped you forge a new path. I've heard even Joseph's taken a liking to your game."

Duke chuckled. "Yeah, he said the game was fine; it was _me_ he didn't like. Though we're turning around on that corner too."

He blinked, suddenly thinking of another thing they could talk about, now that he was here.

"How's Dungeon Dice Monsters doing, anyway?"

Pegasus put a hand to his chin, pretending to think, before turning to face him.

"While it's not selling as well as it once did, sales are stable for the foreseeable future."

At that Duke grinned for the first time since arriving. "That's good news! I was just thinking of adding an expansion pack—more monsters, more traps, and more types of land. That would bump up sales, I bet!"

Pegasus drew back and grinned. "Sounds delightful. Shall we fine-tune the details, as long as we're here? We can code and test any new additions on my dueling platforms. They're state-of-the-art, though I'm sure you know that."

Duke did know that, and the thought of something familiar in all this mess made his heart soar. But before he put it behind him—not completely, but for a time—there was one thing, one connection, that stuck out from what they'd discussed.

"I guess neither of us are angels," Duke said as they headed off. "We both did rotten things, but they forgave us for it anyway, even if we—I—didn't deserve it."

Pegasus glanced at him and nodded. "If they forgave us, then the question now, Devlin-boy, is whether we can forgive ourselves."

It would take time, Duke knew.

But perhaps, in time, they could.

Pedestals, mental and otherwise, could crack. But if the foundation was strong, they wouldn't crumble.


End file.
